New live TV test for Biden as the number of Democrat critics mounts

JOE BIDEN tonight faces a live TV audition in front of a growing number of Democratic critics at the end of a Nato summit that has been overshadowed by doubts about the 81-year-old president’s staying power.

- Jitendra Joshi

Sir Keir Starmer and other leaders from the 32-nation alliance have spent two days trying to thrash out mechanisms to guarantee support for Ukraine, in part to guard against the risk of Donald Trump upending Western stability if he beats Mr Biden in November.

That risk has grown acute enough for Democratic donor George Clooney, below, to add his Hollywood star power to calls from some senior legislators in Congress for the president to bow out of the race. Peter Welch from Vermont warned “the stakes could not be higher” as he became the first Democratic senator to explicitly call for Mr Biden’s withdrawal. Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi said “time is running short”, while Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has reportedly been airing his own doubts in private even as he stands by the president in public.